Two firsts for 2008; buds on the Gooseberry bushes (this morning), and first call of the chorus frog in Linwood swamps (last night). Temps in the 50's.

Update: first Spring Peepers and Wood Frogs heard this evening.

1.5" of snow on the ground as of this AM. Don't think it's at all representative of the amount of accumulation we've gotten, as with temps hovering above the freezing mark and the snow shifting back to rain, the bulk has already compacted or melted away.

35W Northbound in the mess.

Winter storm warning... up to 10" expected by Saturday and just over an inch on the ground (and a good layer of ice underneath it) now. Roads were wet around 4:30 when it was bordering on the chunky side of rain, but the traffic was awful.

0.25" of rain in the gauge before it turned into snow.

The maple flowers are opening, and the ground-clinging Prairie Smoke has almost all of its base foliage. Supposed to get another winter storm between Friday and Saturday.

Just as we thought winter was over, the temperatures shifted into the thirties and the rain into snow; 1&1/8" on the lawn as of this morning. Birds are just going mad; saw two Blue Jays working over the peanut feeder this morning and over a dozen gold and purple finches either on the thistle and seed feeders, or lining up on the hanger to get to them.

The birds are just loving the first rain of the season. Counted the calls of the Goldfinch, Red-winged Blackbird, Blue Jay, Cardinal, Chickadee and Robin within the time it took me to let the dog out on his lead. The ice is a good halfway off my pond, which means it's almost time to start on this season's improvements. Rain started as a drizzle over the morning, and since picked up into a light but persistent patter. 1/4" in the gauge so far, with temps holding in the mid 40's.

2.25 inches of fresh snow by this morning, which means about 1.25 inches of powder between last night and this morning. Appears that the majority of it melted when it hit the ground, so we're probably talking about what would have been 6-10" if it had fallen in the middle of winter. A real boon for the lakes, ponds, and aquifers!